1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to key packs or key holders for storing a plurality of keys or other flat, relatively thin and wide, elongated articles; such holders including means for selectively accessing one particular key from the plurality of keys.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Keys are often carried on key rinlgs, and people such as watchmen often attach these rings by chains to their belts or some other portion of their clothing, while others with perhaps less keys per ring carry them in their pockets or purses. The abrasive action of such keys on rings is similar to that of the constantly rotating hammermill, and pocket and purse linings are rapidly worn out when the person carrying the keys is at all active.
Keys are also often carried in leather or plastic key cases with a considerable number of keys each fastened to its own resilient hasp, and with the resilient hasps pivotally mounted with respect to a flat rectangular key hasp holding plate which is permanently mounted at one end of the key case. Such key cases usually include two front flaps which can be snapped or a side flap which can be zipped to encompass the keys within the case.
These methods of carrying keys and other methods suffer from the difficulty that it is hard to distinguish and to separate one key from the other without making a visual inspection and then without having to visually recognize a particular key for a particular lock by the shape and, sometimes, by the position of the key in the case or on the ring. If somewhere between 6 and 12 keys are to be carried by a single user, and/or if two or more of the keys are designed to go into the same brand of lock, it is virtually impossible to identify quickly each of the keys from all of the others, time after time after time.
On Nov. 13, 1954, Russell T. Wing, one of the co-inventors of the present key pack, together with Dodge E. Wing, were awarded U.S. Pat. No. 2,695,511 for a KEY HOLDER in which keys were pivotally mounted in a casing for moving between a stored position inside the casing and an access position outside of the casing. The keys were accessed by swinging a pivotally mounted selector plate to the right or to the left until it was aligned with the desired key and then, by pressing on a finger grip causing an ejector to push against the key from one side to cause it to swing up to an access position on the other side of the key holder. A plurality of flexible separators were utilized to be deflected to allow individual keys to be placed between adjacent separators, and semi-spherical elements secured to the separators were used to pass through openings in the heads of the keys to pivotally support the keys in the key holder. This structure proved workable, but since the keys were not positively locked or held firmly in position, the keys tended to become dislodged while other keys were being added or removed. Also, the structure of the Wing et al patent provided no way to positively identify keys in situations where the identification had to be made in the dark. Further, once the proper key was selected and ejected, the key was free to flap about in an unmanageable manner making it difficult to apply the key to a lock and to rotate the key in the lock once it was inserted.